Challenge Rules

Saturday, 30 January 2016

I can't tell you how excited I am today... I can FINALLY reveal the secret project some of the Craft Stamper desingers have been working on for the last couple of months!

A new DVD/Blu Ray/ Streaming Download is released today!

Have you ever fancied having a go at creating a face?

Or perhaps you would like to try a different style of face?

There
are so many ways to create a mixed media face. Sketching, fine detail,
realistic portraiture, whimsical proportioning of the features… the list
can go on and on!

In
this programme, four designers will share with you, in real time, just
how they create a face in their own unique way. Watch and learn how to
sketch out a face, how to add in features and then colour! With a
multitude of techniques ranging from line drawings, to watercolouring
and detailed paint shading, each artist will take the viewer through
their process from start to finish.

Why not have a go, try out all the different techniques demonstrated, and then develop your own style of creating faces!

You can watch Kim Dellow, Clare Lloyd, Tracy Scott and Trish Latimer show you just how they create the whimsical faces you may have seen in their art work!

The DVD etc is available to buy NOW from the Craft Stamper website HERE

We are also running a giveaway over on our Facebook page, so be sure to check that out as well!

Congratulations Susanne! We loved the meticulous layering done with the stamping, and the subtle colours are fabulous. The metallic sheen sets off the card to perfection! Susanne will
win a Guest Designer slot, a Winners Profile and of course her gorgeous project will be published in Craft Stamper Magazine.

As always, we have the remaining slots in our Design Top Three to reveal! They are in no particular order :)

· Please put 'Ready Set Stamp' followed by the theme in the subject line

· Please note that due to the number of submissions it's not possible to
contact every entrant individually - if you have not heard from us within one
week, your submission has not been successful. Please try again with a different card!

Guidelines:

· Please make cards only for this gallery.. Please do not use stamps that are discontinued for this article. .
We do not accept cards ONLY created with digital stamps for this
feature. Digital stamps MUST be used in conjunction with real stamping
to qualify.

· Cards which are selected need to be posted to the Craft Stamper
offices in the UK.

· This call IS open internationally.

· Note that we do choose artwork as it arrives, so please don't wait
until the last minute to submit if your cards are ready.

· Cards will be returned at our expense, along with a complimentary copy
of the magazine in which your card features. Note this can take approx. three
months.

· Please follow both the theme AND the colour scheme
when creating your
cards. You can add black, white and metallics to any of the schemes. The
ideas given are simply that, ideas, and do not have to be followed to
the letter!

· Text for this article is required (don't worry - it is short!) and
should be entered into the document provided – this will be sent to you if you
are selected.

Alison won the challenge with this amazingproject! We loved the attention to detail in this piece.If you have a moment, click on the picture and you will be taken on the most amazing journey...... Alison has created a fabulous narrative to go alongside the book! We adored finding out all about the characters!

We asked Alison a few questions all about stamping (well, we are Craft Stamper after all!)

Q: How long have you
been a stamper, and how did you get started?

A: I’ve been stamping since February 2012 - a whole
new area of creativity for me. I helped
out with a scrapbook for my mother’s 70th birthday, and while having a look
online for some bits and bobs to decorate pages I found Tim Holtz and his
stamps and Distress Inks. It was love
at first sight, and I haven’t looked back!

Q: What are your
favourite kinds of stamps, and do you have a favourite stamp company?

A:Oh, well, that’s difficult, because it depends
what mood I’m in. I love background and
texture stamps, vintage and/or grungy, so I’ve got many, many, many Tim Holtz
stamps as well as lots of PaperArtsy Hot Picks and Lynne Perrella stamps. I’ll dabble in kooky and quirky - so I enjoy
Stampotique and some of the PaperArtsy Eclectica ranges. But it’s the wild grasses, meadow flowers,
tree branches, birds, and script stamps that I can’t live without... whoever
they’re made by!

Q: Describe your style,
are you a messy kind of stamper or a more ‘clean and simple’ kind of person?

A: Texture and layers. Then more texture and more layers!

Q:What kind of projects do you like creating the most?

A: Two different sorts make me happiest - either a
tag with Distress Ink techniques and stamping (the simplest I go), or full-on
mixed media with texture pastes, crackle, layers, stamping, collaging... the
lot. I love altering books, or art
journalling in old books either with the simple inking and stamping or the
mixed media route.

Q: Apart from stamps,
what is the one product you wouldn’t be without when you craft?

A: Ouch... only one? Please, please can I have some Distress Inks AND some crackle
medium (the DecoArt Crackle Glaze or Crackle Paint if forced to choose).

We
also asked Alison to show us a favourite stamped creation,
and share why she likes it so much. Here is the gorgeous project she has
chosen:

"Since the project I won with was one of the busy
sort, I’m sharing a simpler pair of tags with you today. These were pure play... At the time, I
wanted to try out my newly arrived Ground Espresso Distress Ink, so I just did
some of my favourite wrinkle-free distress technique and then let what happened
happen. These make me very happy!! - Alison

Congratulations on being our December Design Winner Alison , and it was lovely to learn a little more about you!

Do YOU fancy having a winners profile all about you on the CS blog?

The
profile is part of the prize package for each Design Winner of our
challenges. All you need to do is enter a creation into the challenge,
then if you are voted Design Winner everyone will be reading all about
you before you know it!

Our
current challenge 'Take A Stamp' Anything Goes (as long as you have stamped somewhere!) is open until next Wednesday, so still time to enter! All the details can be
found HERE.

See you back here on Friday29th January 2016for the announcement of
the January challenge Winners!

Assorted Indian ribbon and self adhesive Bindi embellishments, self
adhesive gems in 5 colours and two sizes (the winner will receive all the gems in the
pic!) Indian Butterfly stamp.

How fabulous is that!

Our randomly drawn winner will be one lucky person!

The
Design Winner, voted for by our DT, will have their project
published in a 2 page spread in Craft Stamper Magazine, will have a guest DT slot for an upcoming challenge, and ALSO
gets their very own winners profile here on the blog....so why
not get your stamps out and share your creation?

More eye candy, and the post to link your creations up to can be found HERE....Have fun!

Once you get there, you should see the post about the giveaway! Simply make sure you have liked our FB page, shared the actual giveaway post, and then (this is the important bit!) LEAVE A COMMENT ON THE FB POST!

The winner will be drawn at random from all the comments left on the FB post, at NOON on TUESDAY 19TH JANUARY. So, you have a full week to like, share and comment!

Friday, 8 January 2016

January is a 'Take A Stamp' month so a nice broad theme for you all to play with!

January 2016Take A StampAnything Goes!(as long as you have used a stamp on the project somewhere!)

Show
us how unique you can be, create anything your imagination cares to dream up! Share your
cards, journal pages, layouts, 3D assemblage or whatever else takes your
fancy. Your project can be any theme, any colour you want... as long as
you've stamped somewhere, then you're good to go!

We
have two prizes on offer this month, the first is our sponsor
prize. This winner will be chosen randomly from all of the entries in the
challenge! The sponsor for January is

You may have seen Dali on your TV screen recently, showcasing her fabulous range of East meets West crafting supplies! Encompassing stamps, stencils and lots and lots of fabulous craft stash, the DaliART range takes inspiration from Indian culture, with amazing colours, textures and designs. So much to see, the online shop is well worth a visit!

The prize this month for our randomly chosen winner is:

From left to right:

Assorted Indian ribbon and self adhesive Bindi embellishments, self
adhesive gems in 5 colours and two sizes (the winner will receive all the gems in the
pic!) Indian Butterfly stamp.

Wow! Fabulous prize!

Our randomly drawn winner will be one lucky person!

Our
second winner is our Design Winner. This winner is chosen by our DT,
who all vote for their favourite design from all of the entries. This
winner will have their winning project published in Craft Stamper
Magazine, (with a 2 page spread of their very own!), they will have a GDT slot for an upcoming challenge, and will
also feature in their very own Winners Profile blog post!

I
hope the prizes have given you all an incentive to win...... and how
about some eye candy from the DT to give you some beautifully stamped
inspiration!

I have to say...there are some STUNNERS there, that's what I call inspiration!

Want to enter?!

Then simply link up using the InLinkz tool below! PLEASE
PLEASE PLEASE have a read of our challenge rules before you link up.
Any entry that does not comply with all the rules will not be considered
for either of the two prizes on offer. All rules can be found by
clicking the link at the top of the page, under the banner!

Congratulations Alison! We loved the detail of this piece, if you take a few minutes to visit and read through the whole blog post, you'll be just as entranced as we were with the story! Just wonderful! Alison will
win a Guest Designer slot, a Winners Profile and of course her gorgeous project will be published in Craft Stamper Magazine.

As always, we have the remaining slots in our Design Top Three to reveal! This time we had a tie in the voting, so we have three names to reveal rather than just two. They are in no particular order :)